E is for Ex-Demon Anya (I know, it’s a
stretch – they get worse, believe me!)
 |
| Anya in Once More With Feeling |
Aud was
born in Sweden over 1000 years ago.
After turning her lover into a troll when she discovered he was sleeping with the bar maids in the local village, the demon D’Hoffryn offered to turn Aud into a vengeance demon.
Aud accepted, became Anyanka and brought vengeance to scorned women
around the world. She was drawn to
Sunnydale by a grieving Cordelia, and sent Sunnydale to an alternate dimension. She was defeated when Giles smashed her
necklace, rendering her a mortal student of Sunnydale High, known as Anya.
Anya returned in season 4 and joined the Scooby Gang when the writers were looking for a Cordelia-replacement – someone to add the sarcastic point of view and mix things up a bit. She started dating (and got engaged to) Xander, and working for Giles in The Magic Box. Xander ultimately left Anya at the altar in season 6 and, in her grief, she once again became a vengeance demon.
This show
is full of interesting, strong female characters, which I think is one of the
things that a) made it stand out when it first started and b) has kept it alive
for so long. Anya is another of
these. I’ve diagnosed her as autistic –
she is literal in everything that is said or done, she doesn’t understand human
emotions or interactions, and she needs the basic social “rules” explained in
detail. She’s witty and clever and blunt
as anything. And she’s scared of
rabbits. If that doesn’t make you like
her, nothing will.
I metEmma Caufield, the actress of Anya, when she came to Brisbane Oz Comic Con in
2014. The grin on my face says it all.
Happy
Stitching!
 |
| With Emma Caulfield and Nicholas Brandon |
I did like Anya. Sort of. She was a nice counterpoint to the other characters.
ReplyDeleteShe really was. The core Scooby Gang really needed someone to mix them up a bit - otherwise they'd have been too in agreement about everything. :)
DeleteAnya made me laugh a lot, because she was SO blunt - saying things others thought but would never say.
ReplyDelete:) there was no filter at all!
DeleteOoh, Buffy! Love it! Anya was a good character, if not my favourite(do I even have one?) I have T shirt that reads "And then Buffy staked Edward. The end." I bought it as a joke on a student of mine who was a big Twilight fan, but they don't get the joke any more, as it's been so long since Buffy was on.
ReplyDeleteNice tapestry!
Thanks :) Hahahaha I need that shirt for a few people in my life! Thankfully they are all older so know Buffy. Hmmm that might even make a good cross stitch... :)
DeleteI'm so glad you found a way to fit Anya into your A to Z - regardless of whether or not it felt like a stretch. She is one of my favourites too. Very exciting that you got to meet her. - Louise
ReplyDeleteShe had to be in there somewhere :) It was pretty awesome getting to meet her and Xander - my first ever celebrity photo shoot too
DeleteI LOVED Anya! She was so funny. I loved how she would say whatever came to mind.
ReplyDelete:) That she did!
DeleteI'm impressed with the butterfly detail in your cross stitch. It looks great!
ReplyDeletePlus, how awesome that you got to meet Emma Caulfield! :)
Thanks. I think it's my favourite costume in this alphabet.
DeleteAnd it was pretty cool meeting her :)
That's a really nice stitch for her! I love the butterfly! :)
ReplyDeleteThe Multicolored Diary: WTF - Weird Things in Folktales
Thanks :) I think it's my favourite costume in the alphabet
DeleteAnya was hilarious! I don't remember what particular demon (or group of demons?) they were fighting at the time, but before they start swinging, Anya's standing there looking petrified for a minute, and Willow or whoever is standing next to her, trying to get her psyched up, and says something to the effect of, "Don't think about it (the fight), think about puppies and kittens and fluffy bunnies" or something like that (trying to get her to think about cheerful things) and of course whoever it was forgot that she's terrified of rabbits, so that got her attention. She was like "Bunnies...floppy, hoppy, furry bunnies!" and got all ticked off and charged whatever they were fighting with whatever weapon she was holding. I know, my memory sucks :P I just always remembered her reaction to the bunnies comment, because it had the opposite effect the person wanted, but made her fighting mad so it still worked. She looked like she was imagining the demon or whatever as a horde of bunnies she wanted to annihilate. :D
ReplyDeleteShe was kind of like Dawn in that she said whatever popped into her head without realizing that maybe she shouldn't, and even Dawn sometimes looked at her like "OMG, you did NOT just say that!" which was even more hilarious. For someone who used to be human, she sure had lost touch with that side of herself! I guess being a vengeance demon for over 1000 years will do that to you. She could be so totally innocent and badass at the same time, not an easy combination to pull off, but she managed it. :D
I know which bit you're talk about - it's when they were fighting the Bringers in the very last episode of the show. It was a brilliant moment, although the outcome was pretty sad :(
DeleteI never knew I wanted an Anya cross-stitch until exactly this moment! It's awesome. I always loved Anya. I think she was right about bunnies.
ReplyDeleteA to Z Challenge: Entertainment! TV Talk>
Isa-Lee Wolf
A Bit 2 Read
@IsaLeeWolf
Hahahaha :) Well, the pattern is available in my Etsy shop ;) Glad you like it.
DeleteAnya was my favorite, and the reason she was my favorite was the bunnies. Of course my fear of bunnies came from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
ReplyDeleteThat was a scary bunny
Delete